Galactic Dispatch 103432: Han Solo was on an extended vacation from the Galaxy Far Far Away after breaking his leg when the door of the Millennium Falcon fell unexpectedly. Chewie had no comment, but was heard to chuckle a bit. Solo can outfly any ship,… Read More »“Star Wars: Episode VII” resumes production after injured Harrison Ford returns
A sad accident at Disneyland Paris yesterday where a 5 year old boy was hospitalized with serious injuries after falling off the boat he was riding in on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. According to reports, the child fell off the boat and ended… Read More »5 Year Old Boy Injured on Pirates Of The Caribbean at Disneyland Paris
As we reported earlier, Disneyland closed three attractions voluntarily after a CAL/OSHA report that fined the resort $234,850 for violations. Space Mountain was down the longest, three weeks, but all three attractions have now reopened. Disneyland’s voluntary actions have also saved having to pay that… Read More »State panel reduces Disneyland’s Safety Violations and Fines
Update: a cast member on the Jungle Cruise lends some insight below.
A woman is suing Walt Disney World over injuries she claims to have suffered on the Jungle Cruise attraction at the Magic Kingdom. The guest claims she was unloading from the boat when it was struck from behind causing her to fall. She wants $15,000 in compensation for her injury, her hospital visit and lost wages.
If the guest’s claim is true, Disney will likely have video of it. However, based on her story, I have doubts it happened exactly that way. The boats at the Magic Kingdom’s Jungle Cruise unload one at a time and the boat behind it does not approach within even a half-dozen yards until the boat at the dock is empty. At least that’s Standard Operating Procedure as I’ve experienced it. For her boat to be struck while she was disembarking seems like there was a pretty bad violation of safety standards. If that was indeed the case, it would not be that difficult for Disney to implement a gate system to prevent this sort of collision while unloading going forward.
Read More »Woman Sues Disney World over Jungle Cruise Docking Incident
The family of the 9-year old boy who died after riding his bike off the sidewalk and into the side of a Disney transport bus near Fort Wilderness has reached a settlement with Disney that will keep this case out of the courts. Disney’s spokesperson… Read More »Disney Settles With Family Whose 9-year old Boy Died in Accident with Disney Bus
All the adjustments in policy and procedures have already been made, employees disciplined, OSHA fines levied, and the family’s lawsuit settled. All that we have been waiting for is the final federal investigation’s Accident Report. Today the National Transportation and Safety Board released that report putting a period on the end of a long sentence that I’m sure Disney World would like to put behind them.
That sentence started with a conflagration of errors by operators, management, and poor enforcement of existing policies that ended in the tragic death of a Walt Disney World Monorail Operator early on the morning of July 5th, 2009.
The report itself, issued this afternoon (releasing something on a holiday is almost like intentionally burying it, I wonder if that was coordinated in any way?), is written a very factual manner and in a plainly stated way. The facts outlined clearly put majority of the blame on inadequate procedures and failure to enforce the exact safety procedures that would have prevented the accident. To its credit Disney has made a lot of changes to correct what went wrong, but even if Disney had just enforced one of the common sense errors, this tragedy could have been averted.
Read More »Report on Disney World Monorail Accident of July 2009 released by NTSB
Besides Disney my other real fandom is that of racing, particularly open wheel racing. So as I posted early this year, I was very pleased when this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon was feted at Walt Disney World with a victory parade.
It was with tremendous sadness that I learned today of Wheldon’s death in an accident at the Las Vegas race. Wheldon celebrated his 33rd birthday with his family when he visited Walt Disney World in June. Here’s a video from that day that so clearly shows his love of his family, of life, and of racing.
The 2005 IndyCar series champion, Wheldon was a class act all they way. There’s really nothing more to say than too soon, too soon. Our thoughts are with the Wheldon family and all the drivers and members of the IndyCar racing team and league.
Update: Today’s race was called after officials learned of Wheldon’s death. Instead the remaining teams and drivers held five parade laps in tribute to Wheldon. The video of this moving ceremony is below the jump:
The second injury from flying objects on the Dragon Challenge roller coaster at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure Wizarding World of Harry Potter in two weeks has forced changes to the attraction. The two coaster trains used to be released near simultaneously so the riders… Read More »Second Injury on Dragon Challenge forces Universal to Change Ride